In 1848 a homesteader, Philip Gearhart, and his family left Iowa to join a wagon train at St. Louis, Missouri for the journey across the plains along the Barlow Trail to Oregon City. Mr. Gearhart continued on to Clatsop Plains. In 1851 he purchased squatters rights to a farm located near the former Indian village of Neacoxie, and shortly purchased a total of almost 1800 acres which included all of the present city of Gearhart and part of Seaside. He built a home near the Necanicum Estuary.
Marshall Kinney, a wealthy Astoria businessman, owned a cannery near Gearhart farm. In 1888 Kinney decided he needed a major investment, and convinced John Gearhart, the son who inherited the Gearhart farm, to sell 873 acres. Kinney deeded a 30 ft. strip to the Astoria South Coast Railway Company, of which he was a major shareholder, to build a railroad from Skipanon landing to Seaside. It was completed in 1890. This made Kinney's goal of the quiet, elegant Gearhart Park, the first planned resort in Oregon, possible.
Kinney and his wife, Narcissa, carefully platted a residential area with a grand footpath using the old Indian trail, the Ridge Path, through the center of the development. The dunes west of Cottage Avenue were to be left as wilderness for guests to enjoy. Construction began in 1890 with the railway depot, a large hotel, livery stable, and a bridge across the Neacoxie to the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle Auditorium, the main attraction of the resort. Home construction began quickly. The Kinneys made inexpensive lots available for those who could not afford grand houses, and put no restrictions on the type of home that could be built. This enabled a permanent population to develop among the summer homes, which continues to this day. The permanent residents were often employed to maintain and watch over the vacant vacation residences, building a community that shared common interests.
Gearhart Golf Course
Local legend says the first golf course was started in Gearhart by Scottish immigrants to Clatsop Plains with a four-hole course built in 1886. Marshall Kinney discovered the game on a trip to California in 1900 and decided to build a course north of Gearhart Park on the dunes west of Cottage Avenue, changing the focus of the resort to the west. The idea of wilderness walks on the dunes was replaced by golf as the reason for vacationing in Gearhart.
Gearhart Golf Course began as a 9-hole course in 1902, and doubled in size to 100 acres and 18 holes by 1915. It held the Oregon Coast Tournament until 1951, when the owner decided it was too much work, and asked the Astoria Golf Club to take over. Two Gearhart golfers, Ralph Dichter and Rick Schultz, have won championships. Gearhart Golf Links is the oldest course in the Pacific Northwest, it was the first golf course built in Oregon and the fortieth in the U.S. In 1995, Golf Magazine printed a list of the First 100 Clubs in America compiled by the United States Golf Association, based on submissions by clubs around the country. Gearhart is listed as beginning in 1892, the same year as Chicago and St. Louis.
The course was redesigned by Chandler Egan between 1926 and 1935. The current public course keeps that design with major improvements by Bill Robinson in 1999. It is a Links style course with 6,089 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72, a course rating of 67.9 and slope rating of 112. Jason Kunde is the Golf Professional who manages it. Services available are: a pro shop, restaurant and bar, instruction, carts, and rental clubs.
Gearharts beginning as a family-oriented, quiet resort has influenced its development to the present day. Developers have come and gone, but the communitys spirit prevails. Permanent residents discovered that the corporations who owned the resort at various times were more interested in their own goals than providing for the health and safety of those who lived there.
When the Seaside Volunteer Fire Department arrived to fight the first large hotel fire in 1913, there were no fire hydrants. When SVFD arrived to fight yet another hotel fire in 1915, there were hydrants, but the hose connections didn't fit. The residents voted to incorporate as the city of Gearhart in 1918, in order to provide services for the residents.
Present-day Gearhart is a mix of permanent and vacation homes. Areas such as Gin Ridge, the original ocean front district; Gearhart Palisades west of the golf course; and Little Beach, on the Necanicum River, have many impressive, large homes. The oldest houses are located on the Ridge Path. Many new houses have been built in the area east of the golf course. The oceanfront and golf course condominiums are popular vacation rentals. A new development, with lots available for building, is located along Hwy 101 where the old drive-in theater used to be. The area east of Hwy 101 has cul-de-sac developments, but is mostly rural. The Gearhart Homeowners Association was formed in 1974 to maintain the unique quality of life in Gearhart. Gearhart Elementary School is known for the quality of its education.
"Gearhart....was, and still is, a unique little community, for its commercial life has been kept to a minimum, and there are no amusements other than a golf course.
"Today, it continues to have a sort of isolated charm that attracts the same type of people who lived there when I was a child, and many of the houses are occupied by the families who built them soon after the turn of the century. No place I have ever beeen gives me quite as much pleasure."
-From "Delights and Prejudices"by celebrated culinary mentor James Beard, as quoted by the Gearhart Homeowners Association in "Gearhart Remembered: An Informal History.
Events
The 4th of July Kids Day Parade is a major event in the Gearhart calendar. Summer homes overflow and the parade route is lined with supporters cheering friends and neighbors. It is a non-motorized parade, except for a fire engine and perhaps an official car. The parade consists of red-white-and-blue?decked children, families, bicycles, strollers, and dogs. Highlights may be the short-legged dog society, a family kazoo band (with the last marcher wearing a hand-lettered sign Why, or the descendant of a Gearhart founder. It ends at the fire station with free hot dogs and soft drinks.
The Firemens Ball is the annual fund-raiser for the Gearhart Volunteer Fire Department.
The Trails End Art Association schedules various art shows and activities throughout the year.
Developments North of Gearhart include:
Shamrock Pines
A subdivision of Gearhart, begun in the mid-1990's, Shamrock Pines has a mixture of families, retirees, and some vacation homes. It has an active homeowners association that maintains the federally mandated protective habitat, located at north end of the development, for the endangered silver spot butterfly. This habitat is frequented by deer, elk, and raptors. It provides views for the neighboring homes and a place for residents to walk or bike. The development is surrounded by a nature conservancy's wetlands, providing wilderness and a buffer from development. With limited homes, wild areas, and proximity to services, this could be your ideal location.
The Reserve at Gearhart
This is the newest development in the Gearhart area. Services are still under construction, but lots are for sale. Gearhart Golf Links and the Highlands Golf Course are on the south and west sides of the development; silver spot butterfly habitat is located on the east side. The development has 130 lots from 10,000 to well over 20,000 sq. ft., with a maximum of 130 houses to be built. An architectural control committee must review all building plans. This promises to be an exclusive development of high-end homes.
Pinehurst
Turn west on Highlands Road. On your right are Teal Court and Mallard Court, two small cul-de-sacs, with contemporary homes.
Closer to the ocean, you will find Pinehurst, a gated community on the north side of the road. If you are looking for an elegant, new vacation home, surrounded by executive style houses near the ocean, this beautiful development is meant for you.
The Highlands
If you are an avid golfer, you will love the fact that a golf course meanders through this development. It is a gated community with large homes on the ocean, which means the golf course also has ocean views. The development is located on the south side of Highlands Road and west of The Reserve at Gearhart.
Highlands Golf Course
This nine-hole public course to the north of Gearhart in the Highlands development opened in 1988. It was designed by George Marshall with ocean views on almost every hole. The course has 1,776 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 31. It is a difficult course because of the rough terrain and narrow fairways.
Surf Pines
Surf Pines takes its name from the many shore pines planted in the 1930's by the Civilian Conservation Crops to stabilize the dunes. The trees and sand give the area the feeling of being at the beach. There is enough open space for deer, elk, pheasants, and eagles to roam the area.
The Surf Pines development dates to 1944, when developer Barney Lucus began to purchase farm and dune land to create an unincorporated area named "Surf Pines". Mr. Lucus entered into partnership with two others to develop lots. Then, in the 1950's, Lucus sold the property to William Manion who built Manion Drive and began to sell lots. Early lots were sold in the Sea Breeze area. The Strawberry Hill area was added in the 1980's. In the 1990's development took place in the Surf Pines Landing area and the Silver Spot area. The Surf Pines Association was created in 1969 to pay for road maintenance, and security gates with a resident security guard, were installed in 1990. The incorporated association, in addition to providing maintenance and security, creates community spirit by providing social events for the residents.
Lots sizes are from 1 acre to more than several acres, with many undeveloped lots. Currently there are 240 homes. Surf Pines has both oceanfront and lake front houses. Many homes are in wooded settings, and the whole development has a sense of quiet and privacy.
Entrances
South: from Hwy 101, turn west on Surf Pines Lane.
North: from Hwy 101, turn west on Sunset Beach Lane, turn south on Lewis Road.
